Channel selector for selecting an operating frequency

• US 20050003734A1
• Filed: 07/01/2003
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Global Franchising Corp., Radioshack Online IPCO LLC
• Original Assignee: RadioShack Legacy Corporation
• Inventors: Lam, Man Tai Vincent, Kwong, Sze Ming Patrick, Lam, Man Lung
• Granted Patent: US 7,101,250 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 446/456
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 17/44 Toy garages for receiving toy vehicles; Filling stations
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 30/04 using wireless transmission

Abstract

Provided is a transmitter that includes a channel selector for modifying an operating frequency of a radio-controlled toy. The transmitter has a channel selection switch that enables a user to pick a channel from a set of predefined channels. The selected channel is then transferred to the toy. For example, a microcontroller unit within the transmitter may be used to detect the selected channel. The toy is placed in contact with the transmitter and the transmitter'"'"'s microcontroller unit communicates the channel to a microcontroller unit inside the toy. The toy'"'"'s microcontroller stores the channel in a memory in the toy. The toy then tunes to the stored frequency to receive control signals from the transmitter.

Claims

1. A transmitter enabling the selection of one of a plurality of predefined channels for use in communicating with a radio-controlled toy, wherein each channel is associated with a radio frequency, the transmitter comprising:

a selector for selecting one of the plurality of channels;

a detector for identifying the selected channel; and

an interface for transferring the identified channel from the transmitter to the toy.

2. The transmitter of claim 1 further comprising a channel selection circuit connected to the selector, wherein the channel selection circuit provides an electrical representation of the selected channel to the detector.

3. The transmitter of claim 2 wherein the detector is a microcontroller unit, and wherein the microcontroller unit identifies the selected channel based on the electrical representation provided by the channel selection circuit.

4. The transmitter of claim 3 wherein the interface is an electrical connection between the microcontroller unit and an electrical circuit housed within the toy.

5. The transmitter of claim 3 further comprising a signal transmission circuit, wherein the signal transmission circuit includes:

frequency control circuitry for controlling a transmitting frequency of the transmitter based on the identified channel; and

transmitting circuitry associated with the frequency control circuitry for transmitting data received from the microcontroller unit to the radio-controlled toy using the identified channel.

6. The transmitter of claim 1 further comprising a charging circuit for charging a battery associated with the toy, wherein the identified channel is transferred from the transmitter to the toy while the battery is being charged.

7. The transmitter of claim 6 further comprising at least one light emitting diode (LED) for displaying an operational state of the transmitter.

8. The transmitter of claim 7 wherein the operational state indicates whether the transmitter is powered on, the battery of the toy is being charged via the charging circuit, the identified channel is being transferred to the toy, or the transfer of the identified channel to the toy has failed.

9. The transmitter of claim 8 wherein the operational state is represented by at least one of a color or a blinking/steady state of the LED.

10. A programmable frequency radio-controlled car comprising:

an interface for receiving a user-selected operating frequency from a transmitter;

a controller for detecting the received operating frequency; and

a memory accessible to the controller for storing the received operating frequency, wherein the stored operating frequency is used by the radio-controlled car for interpreting signals transmitted by the transmitter.

11. The radio-controlled car of claim 10 wherein the controller is a microcontroller unit.

12. The radio-controlled car of claim 11 further comprising a signal receiving circuit for receiving data in a signal transmitted by the transmitter, wherein the signal receiving circuit comprises:

circuitry for mixing the received signal down to an intermediate frequency based on the stored operating frequency; and

circuitry for demodulating and shaping the intermediate frequency signal, so that the data in the signal transmitted by the transmitter can be recovered and provided to the microcontroller unit.

13. A system for selecting an operating frequency to be used for communication between a radio transmitter and a radio-controlled toy, the system comprising:

a radio transmitter having a frequency selector for selecting the operating frequency from a plurality of frequencies, and an interface for transferring the selected operating frequency to the radio-controlled toy; and

a radio-controlled toy having an interface for receiving the selected operating frequency from the radio transmitter, and a memory accessible to the interface for storing the received operating frequency.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the transmitter further comprises a programmable signal transmitter for sending signals to the radio-controlled toy using the selected operating frequency.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the radio-controlled toy further comprises:

a signal receiver for receiving signals from the transmitter; and

a tuner accessible to the memory for tuning the signal receiver to the stored operating frequency.

16. A transmitter for a radio-controlled toy, wherein the toy includes a programming contact and at least two charging contacts, the transmitter comprising:

a housing;

a frequency selection circuit positioned within the housing;

a charging circuit positioned within the housing;

an interface pad proximate to a surface of the housing, wherein the interface pad provides electrical communication between the frequency selection circuit and the programming contact of the toy to transfer frequency selection information from the frequency selection circuit to the toy, and wherein the interface pad further provides electrical communication between the charging circuit and the charging contacts of the toy; and

a channel selection switch on the housing for selecting one of a plurality of predefined frequencies for the transmitter and the toy;

wherein the selected frequency is set as an operating frequency of the transmitter and toy during charging of the toy, and wherein the operating frequency is used for communications between the transmitter and toy.

17. The transmitter of claim 16 further comprising a multi-state indicator for indicating an on state, a frequency selection state, and a charging state.

18. The transmitter of claim 17 wherein the multi-state indicator is a light emitting diode.

19. The transmitter of claim 16 wherein the interface pad further comprises a charging button for activating the charging circuit.

20. The transmitter of claim 16 further comprising:

a transmitting circuit for transmitting data to the toy using one of the plurality of predefined frequencies; and

a microcontroller unit for detecting the selected frequency and setting the transmitting circuit to use the selected frequency as the operating frequency for transmitting data.